ARTS THURSDAY west end to east side
Greta Scacchi and daughter Leila.
WEST END……..TO EASTSIDE
A week of theatre,..a play reading, written by Anton Burge, called Whatever Happened ON Baby Jane.
Set in the dressing rooms of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis it dramatises the differencec between these cinema icons. Bette is the actress , Joan the ‘star’.and each shone their vision into the other.
Greta Scacchi shone in a brilliant portrayal of Bette- smart, slick, powerful and poignant. And truly a great actress.
Later to the Garrick Club, the oldest theatre club in London, actually established when to be an actor was an offence and one could be arrested as a vagrant.
Well, there are no vagrants anywhere near this hallowed mansion. I’ve only ever been invited to the dining room before, and I have to pay tribute to Rex Harrison who hosted a fabulous supper after one of our shows. But this time I was escorted deep into the ever richer rooms for the second annual
SHERIDAN MORLEY THEATRE BOOK PRIZE….
Created and introduced by the vivacious Ruth Morley (left) in memorial to her late husband, the internationally acclaimed theatre critic and writer. The Morley’s links to Australia remain strong and many recall the unique brilliance of Sheridan’s father, Robert Morley. The three judges , Susannah Clap (critic for the Observer), Michael Holroyd (the biographer of several great icons) and Eileen Aitkins- beloved actress and a true Dame) spoke of the three shortlisted books-Richard Eyres interviews. The biography of Nijunsky and one about Grimaldi, the most famous clown of past centuries. Michael Blakemore and Greta Scacchi were among those to toast the winning subject, the great Grimaldi, whose legend deepens when we recall the famous story- Grimaldi goes to the doctor- “Doctor, I am so sad and ill and low” “Why, I shall prescribe a visit to see the clown Grimaldi!”
Director Michael Blakemore with Greta Scacchi
“But, Doctor, I AM Grimaldi”
The same afternoon I caught the matinee of ENRON, the play by Lucy Preebles which has transferred to the Noel Coward theatre from its sell-out season at the Royal Court. Directed by Rupert Gould, (whose Six Characters… came to the Sydney Festival this year) this is a big bold epic about the rise and fall of the CEO of energy giant, ENRON. Daring in its narrative, and ambitious in its scale- a cast of perhaps 30 , this has songs and choreography. It reminded me of Caryll Churchill’s Serious Money,(without her inspired rhyming) and takes on a very serious story. Sam West is Wonderful in the powerful, epic central role.
Next week in Paris, Audrey Tautou in La Maison de la Poupee..then Spain to meet writer, Josephine Grieves (guest April 1st) on her Camino de Santiago.
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But if you’re an Eastside… don’t forget the launch of the new Junglehammer CD at the Studio at the Sydney Opera House, May 15, starring iOTA and James Guiney.